Love on A Short Leash
by koi-shizukesa
Summary: Inuyasha Takahashi has made some mistakes in his life, but who hasn't. But some mistakes cost a pretty penny, such as 600 hours of your life doing volunteer work at Tokyo Animal Rescue. But Inuyasha has bitten off more than he can chew. Bad dog. Please Read/Review!
1. Lay Down

Compassion. A noun used to describe someone who can feel _empathy_ for another living mass of cells. Everyone has some level of compassion, a comradery of emotions towards another fucked up and lost soul, a shared ache for what they are experiencing.

Everyone can be compassionate, right?

Inuyasha Takahashi, according to the tub-of-lard sitting all high and mighty upon the sleek, oak judiciary bench, lacked this basic human quality.

Inuyasha himself found this sentiment absolutely fucking _amusing_. Human quality? The irony wasn't over his head, which in case it wasn't obvious to anyone with half-decent eyesight, was topped with two snowy peaks that twitched with every tap, tap, tap of the stenographer's keys. He was far from being _human_ , at least half as far.

Based on his mixed heritage alone, he liked to consider himself at least rudimentarily compassionate. He had lived his entire life, all 150 years of it, regardless of his juvenile appearance, seeing and breathing in how _compassionate_ humanity, or demonry, can be. He has witnessed it, first hand, using his small triangle sonars to pick up the whispered insults that floated around his human mother and himself as a young pup, like walking through thick, invisible miasma.

" _Demon's whore."_

" _Tainted."_

" _Disgusting half-breed."_

Inuyasha of course had been young at the time, but understood the implications all the same. Regardless of the mighty reputation of his daiyoukai father's blood coursing through his veins, and his mated mother's, he was still considered beneath even the lowliest human. All because his parents loved each other.

Brought back to the present, as the thick man dressed in judge's robes continued to blather on and on about respect, learning his lesson the hard way, _blah blah blah_ , Inuyasha glanced sideways at the stoic, statue-esque businessman standing next to him. His father had refused to have his youngest, and most unruly son, represented by anyone than himself.

After all, who else would get Inuyasha out of this mess? Definitely not Inuyasha himself. He struggled enough to not dig his hole deeper and deeper until eventually, he found himself not just in jail, but chained inside of the smoldering, echoing ditch dug by his big, fat mouth.

That was the culprit of this all. Inuyasha had always been short tempered, quick to jump the gun and have fists pulled to defense before a situation could even be assessed completely. Hindsight is always 20/20, right? Inuyasha figured, if and when he ever did kick that proverbial shit-bucket of life, that would be the tagline of his headstone. A single phrase that summed up every action ever made in his life.

His attention was quickly brought back as Inuyasha's father returned to his son's side at the solid wood table, where he sat in a slightly wrinkled but decently clean button-up shirt and slacks, forced on him by his ever worrying mother. _'Presentation, presentation, presentation'_ , she had kept repeating, as her many hands (she only had two, right?) continued to smooth down Inuyasha's steel dipped hair and straighted out the wrinkle in his sleeve. He hadn't even noticed his father's departure to speak privately with the judge at the bench, and he waited with little patients to hear his outcome.

Hopefully not much more than community service. He wouldn't mind to actually have an excused to get out of the house, away from his brother, whose was most likely entirely made of marble for as much emotion as he had ever shown, and his overbearing and meaning-well mother. Maybe just picking up some trash a few days a week, sitting with old geezers in a nursing home playing cards…

"….mandatory 600 hours volunteering at the Animal Rescue of Tokyo. All paperwork must be signed each and every day by Kagome Higurashi, and hours turned in every week on Friday sharp. A case manager will be assigned to watch and record any progress or digress on your behavior, Mr. Takahashi. Your representation will be in charge of selecting a manager." With that, the judge slammed down his gavel of lower level justice, and waddled, _literally waddled_ , out of his chair and through a door into what was probably his chambers.

Inuyasha barely, just __ _barely_ , held in his groan of unsatisfaction. An animal rescue? Was this judge trying to fuck with him? Was this some big joke from the universe, poking fun at the biggest punch line in his life? Of course, his consequence would be to work with _dogs_ , considering he was part dog himself although much more civilized.

Feeling the vice-grip on his arm, Inuyasha stood quickly and followed his silent father out of the court room and passed other guilty parties awaiting their verdicts on the benches outside. His father moved methodically, other occupants of the rather large court house seeming to part like the sea for the dominating presence of the dai-youkai. Inuyasha followed behind diligently, having learned long ago to ride the wave and follow the path created by his father, rather than risk being separated and making his father wait. Although he did receive many of his abilities, such as strength and speed, from his father, he did not receive the natural presence that demanded absolutely respect and submission that his father commanded. Mr. Takahashi was a force all his own, unmatched even by Inuyasha's almost equally as powerful brother, Sesshomaru.

Once out on the street, Mr. Takahashi turned to face his youngest son, his exasperation evident by the hardness in his eyes. He cleared his throat, checked his watch, and then held his son's gaze for a moment before beginning, "Inuyasha, this is your final chance to not destroy your life by getting something permanently to blot our family's name. I had to pull strings and call in favors to lower the sentence on this to just community service. Do not mess this up."

"I get it." Inuyasha was quick in his response, and hardness taking over his own features like a sudden wave. Mr. Takahashi nodded once, glancing to his right as a sleek, black town car pulled up. His father dropped words of dinner and seeing him tonight at Inuyasha's feet, but they fell to deaf ears. Inuyasha was already making his way down the street, intent on going to get a nice, large drink at the one and only bar he ever went to in Tokyo.

He understood he messed up, he really did. Honestly, the whole situation was possibly ranked as one of his biggest fuck ups, which was really impressive if you really knew the half-demon. He had quite the…talent for getting himself into sticky and downright unbelievable situations, usually accompanied by his bad decisions and reactions.

It honestly all started with that girl. That _beautiful_ , enraging, manipulative girl. He had met her at this very bar that he was walking into, the sense-dulling vapor of cigarette smoke clung to every surface of the old bar. The lights were dim, the patrons spread out between the bar and some tables. It was a frequently visited place not just for the half-demon, but other regulars. There was a lingering charm to this place, it wasn't run down or sleazy in the least, but it also wasn't extremely hip or filled with loud, overly-bassed music. It was a bar down to the essentials, with its full drink menu, pool tables, and cigarette ash-trays everywhere.

Inuyasha sat at his usually stool, setting his elbows on the bar and pulling out a box of cigarettes from his pocket. A day spent in the courtroom, and being hassled by his parents damn well made him deserve a drink and a smoke. How else can you deal with stress these days, legally at least? Stealing a glance towards to regular bartender, who knew his drink order as sure as the sun would rise the next day, his thoughts drifted back to the night-haired beauty that had been sitting alone just three months back.

She had pulled him in like a fly. It was the perfect symbolism in his mind, her as the seductive black widow, lithe and mysterious. Her eyes were dark, smoldering, and Inuyasha knew from that moment he was a gonner. Every day for the last two weeks, he had wished that Miroku had successfully talked him into going somewhere else that night, anywhere else. Maybe this entire situation would have been avoided.

Her name was Kikyo, and she played him for the fool he apparently was when it came to beautiful women. She took him in to her life, showed him what he had always thought love would be, and tricked his mind into doing whatever she requested. If she said to jump, he would go above and beyond by throwing a backflip in there. After only about a month and a half of knowing each other, she had weaseled her way into his life like a parasite, infecting each aspect of who he was with her sickly-sweet poison.

It only took a very hard look at what he had become for Inuyasha to find the strength, swallowing the bitter pill of acceptance hat flushed his system of this woman.

Inuyasha grasped the cool glass as it was placed in front of him, swigging the dark, stinging liquid in one gulp. He would finish his drink, smoke a few cigarettes, and then head home for a long night of self-medicated sleep.

Slipping his cellphone out of the pocket of his slacks, Inuyasha quickly opened the messaging app. Hitting the name at the top, he pulled up the thread for his longest friend, and most likely candidate for his case manager, Miroku.

Now, Miroku was Inuyasha best friend (okay, so really his _only_ friend), but there was no denying the less-than-redeeming qualities of the decedent of Buddhist monks. For a charming as the dark-haired human was, he was equally or more so lecherous and deceiving. He used his charm and good looks to achieve whatever his goal may be, whether it was personal or professional. Inuyasha really couldn't blame him for using his talents, either. It had gotten the half-demon out of trouble on multiple occasions.

' _Yo, out of court. At OR.'_ He quickly typed out, his clawing making an insignificant clack against the glass screen. 'OR' was a nickname they began using after visiting this bar for Miroku's 21st birthday. Old Reliable was the best name for this place, it was exactly what you need, when you needed it. Nothing more, nothing less. It was only a moment after that the device vibrated in his hand.

' _Verdict?'_ Was the simple reply. Inuyasha again groaned inwardly, instantly reminded of his "sentence". Honestly, it wasn't detrimental compared to what he could have done. It was just _inconvenient_ and slightly offensive in his opinion. Miroku would surely find humor in the situation at his best friend's expense.

' _600 hours community service. Animal rescue.'_ He messaged back, gritting his teeth in anticipation. It took only a moment more before a message blurb popped up that cause Inuyasha to growl under his breath.

' _Guess they're going to keep you on a short leash there.'_

' _Maybe you'll find a new best friend.'_

' _Will they even let you around the cats?'_

Inuyasha quickly slammed out a _'fuck you'_ to his friend before putting his phone to sleep, paying his bill, and walking out of the bar. Walking slowly down the bustling streets of Tokyo, the smells of street food, liquor from nearby bars, and the faintest stench of piss filled his overly sensitive nose. He crinkled it, his feet trying to desperately carry his body, and most importantly his senses, away from the less-than-pleasant smells. Soon, after taking the maze of streets, he appeared at the lobby of the high-rise building his family not only owned, by occupied. Sometimes having a daiyoukai as old as time and as rich as can be came in handy.

Inuyasha grunted noncommittally at the doorman, and pushed the button in the elevator for the very top floor. He lived there with his entirely family, each with their own pent house apartment on the floor. He had a love-hate relationship with his living situation.

Sliding his key into the door, it opened with a welcoming click, and Inuyasha let out a sigh of relief this time to finally be in familiar waters. The kitchen was decked out with top-of-the-line appliances, matte black, his countertops clear and glowing in the dim light overhead. His living room was sparse, a flatscreen TV hanging on the wall, with a long L-Shaped leather couch in across from it. Various exercise equipment, a gym bag, and a lone coffee table filled the remains of the room, with an attaching hallway leading to the guest room with adjoining bathroom, and his personal area.

Inuyasha made his way to the kitchen to grab a beer, and ungracefully plopped himself on the couch. It was comfortable, which is all he really needed in furniture. Unlike his parents or brother, appearance was something he couldn't bring himself to give a shit about.

His laptop was placed precariously on the cushion next to him. It was only a moment of thought before the internet was brought up, and 'Tokyo Animal Rescue' was banged into the search engine. If he was going to spend 600 hours of his life in this place, he may as well get to know it.

It quickly pulled up a variety of links, some in the form of news article praising the rescue for its efforts and achievements. Other links were various social media pages, with each profile picture only depicting the turned backs of two individuals.

One was obviously feminine, based on the hair and physical attributes alone. Slender, with long, wavy raven hair. He couldn't see the face, but could only guess that the mysterious woman must be Kagome Higurashi, the woman who held his near future in her hands. Next to her, also facing away from the camera with arms linked, was a taller male with a thick pony tail of vermillion hair. Just barely, Inuyasha could make out the slight hint of… were those pointed ears?

Great, demons.

Inuyasha quickly shut the laptop down, deciding that was enough investigation for the night. The laptop was discarded in its same, lonely spot, while the owner wondered unceremoniously to the back bedroom, his private area. A shower could be heard, along with the top of a beer being popped. Inuyasha figured he had one final weekend left of his freedom for the next six or so months, he may as well be rested for the experience.


	2. Walk

"So this is where you'll be spending your week days, hmmm?" Miroku whistled, his hands idly tapping against the wheel of his car. Inuyasha was lounging in the passenger seat, a scowl on his face as his amber gaze was locked on the sight in front of him.

It was his very first day of volunteering at Tokyo Animal Rescue. Miroku had offered to pick him up and drop him off every day, considering he _was_ Inuyasha's case manager. So that morning at 9:00, Miroku had pulled up to Inuyasha's building and watched as the silver haired grump walked slowly to the car, flung open the passenger door and then slammed it shut.

To sum it up, 9:00 was early for Inuyasha, and he was _not_ a morning person.

"Keh, looks like it doesn't it." Inuyasha bit back at Miroku, a low growl coming from his chest. Every day for the next six months, he would be spending five hours working off his 'debt to society'. Inuyasha wasn't sure exactly what he would be doing, but he could already tell it would be a waste of his time. Usually his days would be spent at the gym, playing video games, or hanging at Old Reliable with Miroku.

Inuyasha unbuckled his seat belt and quickly got out of the car, but not before turning back to Miroku to say, "Oi, I'll see you at 2:00, got it?" He then shut the door and started walking up the steps to the large, white building in front of him. Already, Inuyasha was more impressed than he had expected to be by the facility. It was large and clean on the outside, and as Inuyasha placed a clawed hand on the handle of the front door, his demon enhanced hearing picked up on the whimpers and small barks of animals inside.

The front lobby consisted of one front desk, and had multiple hallways branching off. There were displays of animal toys, leashes and collars for sale, as well as pictures of adoptable animals lined one wall. He took just a moment to browse through the pictures, seeing varieties of dogs, cats and other animals, different breeds, sizes and ages.

"Excuse me, can I help you?"

Inuyasha turned away from the wall of hopeful animals to face the source of the feminine voice. Immediately, his eyes went wide as Inuyasha took in the sight before him. There was a girl, no, a _woman_ standing there. She was short in stature, her body athletic in dark washed jeans and a purple t-shirt that had "Tokyo Animal Rescue" emboldened on the breast. Her long, obsidian hair was pulled into a high pony tail, and there was a lanyard of keys placed around her neck with an ID tag hanging off the end. Her picture was clearly displayed on the tag, as well as her name.

Kagome Higurashi.

But it was neither her clothes nor lanyard that threw Inuyasha's mind into a spinning mass of confusion, causing him to stop short in his reply. It was her _face_. It was _her_ face, the woman who was the sole reason he was in this situation, giving up five hours a day, five days a week for the next six months. Obviously, Inuyasha wasn't an idiot. He knew this woman in front of him wasn't Kikyo, the bitch that had manipulated him into a weak fool.

But damn, she looked so much like her, and it pissed him off already.

Inuyasha glared at the woman in front of him, despite the sunshine that seemed to radiate from her face. "I'm Inuyasha." This was all that he knew needed to be said. The court had made all of the arrangements, she should have been prepared for him.

Instantly, and as if it was really possible, the woman's face grew even brighter, her blue eyes lighting up in realization. "Oh, of course! I hope finding this place wasn't too much trouble," Kagome had begun, her eyes roaming over the clipboard that was in her hand, "I know that we are pretty far outside the actual city of Tokyo. Really though, this is the only area where we could get a big enough space. If you would follow me, I'll take you on the tour myself." Kagome turned and began to walk away, casting a smile and wave towards the young woman who sat behind the front desk, typing at the computer. The woman waved back, wearing the same t-shirt as Kagome and an ID tag that said "Rin Hiko".

Inuyasha remained silent, trying to keep his emotions in check. It wouldn't do well to get off on the wrong foot on his first day, especially when he would be here every weekday for the next six months. Inuyasha would rather just stay under the radar, get his hours in, and get the hell away from this place unscathed in six months. He followed Kagome through the different halls, listening half-heartedly as she showed him multiple rooms and hallways.

There was a workroom for, obviously, workers to keep their things. Everyone had their own locker for personal storage, and the lockers were labeled. Inuyasha was able to see that there were three other people other than Kagome and himself that worked at the rescue. The name 'Sango', 'Shippo', and 'Rin' were written above the lockers, and he could see his own name recently written above the very last locker.

"You can put your stuff in there. I would suggest just wearing old tennis shoes if you have them. Things can get messy working with all of the animals we have here." She nodded for him to place the backpack he brought with him inside. "We keep all of our stuff here, and there's also a refrigerator if you bring lunch. There's a place you can order from too, they have all kinds of food…" Kagome continued to ramble on as Inuyasha glanced around the room.

There was a table with a couple chairs, a couch, and a corkboard on the far wall. There were notes, take-out menus, and pictures stapled or held up with tacks onto the board. He recognized Kagome's face in a few of the pictures, as well as the face of the woman up front. There were two other people he didn't recognize, and could only assume they were the other two owners of the lockers in the room.

"Keh, can we get on with this tour already? Don't I have shit I need to do?" He grumbled out gruffly to Kagome, his voice causing her to stop short in her talking and frown in his directions. Being the professional she was though, Kagome wasn't going to let his attitude bother her.

"Alright, let's move on then. Down this hallway is my office, come in any time you need help. If you can't find me, this will come in handy," Kagome paused at the door to her office, opening it up and grabbing a black walkie-talkie off of her desk, "You can just call for me on here. They're hooked up to ear pieces and mics, so we can be hands free to talk. Here's yours." She handed the walkie-talkie with the earpiece attached to Inuyasha, who accepted it with a grunt.

The tour continued down the hallway, with Kagome showing Inuyasha the supply room where mountains of food, blankets, buckets, and toys were kept. "We get supply shipments in on Thursdays, and that will be one of your jobs, to help the guy unload the truck and bring everything in here. You have a key on your lanyard that I'll give you for this room." Kagome began walking down the hallway, and Inuyasha could hear the sounds of animals growing louder and louder with every step. He could hear the whimpers of dogs, mewls of cats, and even the chirps of birds.

Kagome pushed open the large door at the end of the hallway, holding it just long enough for Inuyasha to catch. "And this is where you'll spend the majority of your day. We have a room for dogs, a room for cats, and a room for birds. Out that door," Kagome pointed to her right, "Is the pasture where we have goats, chickens, and pigs. You'll be in charge of feeding the animals and cleaning out the areas. Shippo works in here most of the time, and Sango stays out in the pasture. You'll usually find her in the barn."

"So it's just me and three other people who work here?" Inuyasha's eyebrow went up at Kagome. He couldn't believe that this entire place was ran by only five people, with one being a volunteer.

Kagome giggled while walking through the rows of cages, glancing in to check on each animal; they were currently in the dog room. "Yeah, that's mostly it. The Rescue was my father's, but I've taken it over full time. My brother comes in and volunteers sometimes when he can." She paused at a specific cage that house two small gray dogs. A paper attached to the cage had an information sheet about each dog. Inuyasha could read the names 'Haru' and 'Taiki'. "These dogs are bonded, so they need to stay together when you take them out."

Inuyasha looked at the woman quizzically. "Take them out? Like on walks?"

Kagome sent him a look as if he had grown three additional heads right in front of her. "Of course! You'll need to become acquainted with every dog in here. There is a supply closet over there," She pointed to a small door in the corner, "You'll find harnesses and leashes. We have a nice walking path that goes into the woods right behind the property." She motioned for Inuyasha to follow her as they made their way back down the hall they came from. Inuyasha glanced as he passed two additional rooms connected to the dog room: one labeled 'Cats' and the other 'Birds'.

"Where are we going now?" Inuyasha requested, crossing his arms as he followed behind the petite woman. Slowly, he was becoming more comfortable in this building, finding its few hallways very easy to navigate. When they were back at Kagome's office, she began to pull out a variety of items from behind her desk, placing them in front of Inuyasha.

"We have to get you ready to be an official volunteer!" She patted the three shirts neatly folded on the desk, and waved her hand over the lanyard. "We all wear the same kind of shirts, it helps identify us to anyone coming in looking at the animals. And here's your lanyard." She handed the lanyard to Inuyasha. "We don't have your ID card yet, because we need to take your picture."

"Keh. How do I know which key is used where?" Inuyasha picked up his own lanyard and slung it around his neck. It was heavy with the amount of keys. Kagome placed her hand around her own lanyard, picking up one at a time in her delicate fingers.

"They're color coded, so it's pretty simple." She first picked up a purple tipped key. "Purple is for the main doors. Blue is the storage room, orange is the dog room, yellow is for cats and green is for birds." She flipped to each key as she talked, Inuyasha instinctively flipping his keys with her as if he could memorize them by sight alone. "There's another shed outside where we keep landscaping equipment for the grounds, but usually that's taken care of by another volunteer. He only comes once a month to tend to the grounds." She flipped up a pink tipped key. "But if you need anything from it for some reason, it's the pink key."

Inuyasha followed along and nodded, figuring eventually it would be like second nature to him as much as it was to her. His eyes moved around the small office they were in while Kagome picked up different piles of paper trying to organize. Her desk and computer were cluttered with papers and post-its. One particular wall was almost entirely a bulletin board, and the phrase 'Success Stories' was posted above it in cut-out lettering. Pictures of animals with other humans and even some demons were tacked onto the surface; there had to be at least a thousand pictures, some overlapping others.

"These all the animals that have been adopted?" Inuyasha inquired, turning his body to face the wall and looking over his shoulder towards Kagome.

"Yeah, I like to keep a visual for why we're here." The smile that Kagome sent towards the bulletin board was definitely the most genuine and loving Inuyasha had ever seen, especially when it was directed towards an inanimate object. "I started it when I took over for my dad." Kagome shook her head, bringing herself back and turning her eyes towards Inuyasha, only to find him staring at her. She licked her lips and quicly adverted her eyes, the gaze making her uncomfortable. "Shippo is out walking some of our dogs right now and Sango is in the barn." She sat at her desk and booted up her computer. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to talk to them, or Rin up front. They all know you're here."

She smiled up at Inuyasha, her fingers flying across the keys as she pulled up the rescue's database. "Go ahead and get started in the dog room. We have a lot, and they all need to be walked." She fingered a stack of small, index card shaped papers on her desk, picked one, and handed it to Inuyasha. "On the back of their info cards is a chart we use for the month. If there's a checkmark on the back for today, they've already been walked. It was the best way to keep track."

Inuyasha nodded and picked up the shirts, turning to leave. She was still typing away at her computer as he walked out and down to the workroom to change his shirt. Not a terrible start for a first day.

After walking three beagles, two akitas, and five huskies, Inuyasha felt he knew the build backwards and forwards. He opened up the gate for his next victim, and young mutt with a dark brown coat and hooked the leash onto the dog's collar. Inuyasha lead the excited dog out of the building, knowing the way to the walking path now by heart. As soon as he set foot out of the building, the pasture and the adjorning barn were to the right. A large forest was to the left, and the walking path disappeared in the thick of the trees.

He had seen the other two workers from a distance, but hadn't approached them. Inuyasha wasn't one to just go out and strike up a conversation with others. He was sure that eventually, being one of the only five people that worked there, he would get to know them. Introductions didn't have to be made the first day.

When Inuyasha returned his final dog back to its kennel, he made his way back to the workroom to grab something to eat out of his bag. He had came prepared with a simple sandwich and some chips, nothing too fancy. He was enjoying the quiet alone when the door suddenly flung open, and the girl from the front desk scuttled in.

"I thought I would find you here!" She chirped, plopping herself down in the seat next to him at the table. Her hair was dark and to her shoulders, and to Inuyasha she reminded him of a six year old: bubbly and loud. "I wanted to come meet you myself! I'm Rin. You're Inuyasha right? Oh this is so exciting, we don't get a lot of new volunteers here very often!" Rin's mouth was moving a mile a minute, her hand snaking out to grab his before he could react with a firm shake.

"Uh, hey." The minimum effort he had put into his response seemed to roll of Rin's back without a hitch. The woman continued blabbering on about something that he had no idea about. He just continued to watch her as she talked, trying to feign interest in the conversation as he continued to eat his sandwich. The door again burst in as the redhead, who he assumed was Shippo, waltzed in carrying a large box of what appeared to be dog toys.

"Hey Shippo!" Rin called out. The boy smiled back at her, his face pinking just slightly.

"Hey Rin. This must be the new guy." Shippo dropped the box and stuck out his hand, while his eyes left Inuyasha's face briefly to travel a glace up to his ears. Inuyasha shook Shippo's hand firmly, taking note of the pointed ears, claws, and tail the redhead sported. Obviously, Shippo was a demon, and a fox demon to be exact.

"Inuyasha." He prided himself on keeping his responses short. Shippo grabbed the box he had discarded off of the floor, and placed it in the corner of the room.

"More donations?" Rin asked as she got up to grab a water bottle from the fridge.

Shippo nodded his head, a mischevious smirk gracing his boyish features. "Guess who?" His green eyes sparkled as Rin tapped her chin, acting as if she was thinking very, very hard.

"Let's see…. Who sends donations almost every week..." Rin used her hand to hide a giggle. "It was Hojo of course!" She turned to look at Inuyasha, who seemed to not be paying too close of attention to the conversation and gave him a wink. "Hojo not only makes deliveries for us on Thursdays, but he is also rather…. Infatuated with our dear boss."

Shippo snickered. "Poor guy can't take a hint. Not that it isn't understandable. Kagome may be the nicest person I've ever seen shutting down a guy." Shippo grabbed the seat next to Rin, popping a piece of gum from his pocket into his mouth.

Inuyasha quirked his eyebrow. "So he makes donations to the rescue to win her over or something?" At the nod of the other room occupants, he rolled his eyes. "That's fucking stupid. This guy sounds like a loser."

Shippo shrugged, before getting up and stretching. "It benefits the rescue, so we're all for it!" Giving Rin a grin, he waved as he started making his way out of the door. "Only an hour or so left until clock out. Inuyasha, why don't I show you the ropes for cleaning the cat room?" Shippo waited by the door, leaning against the frame.

The mention of cats made Inuyasha wrinkle his nose. He _hated_ cats. Loathed them actually. It may sound cliché, considering the whole cat-dog situation, but Inuyasha had always found cats to be temperamental and annoying. "I guess if it's something I'll be doing every day, why the hell not?" He got up to follow the fox demon on, sending back a one-motion wave to Rin who was getting up herself.

Following down the hallway behind Shippo, he could hear… was that humming? They were almost to Kagome's office, and Inuyasha was positive that was humming. He slowed down as they passed her door, and the image in front of him sent a weird feeling through his chest.

Kagome was half walking, half dancing around her office, filing papers into a cabinet in the corner and tidying up her desk, humming to herself. He really couldn't deny it, there was something about his boss that caused him to be drawn to her. Whether it was her easy going attitude or her sunny smile, Inuyasha wasn't sure. Her resemblance to that bitch Kikyo, however, pulled at his heart at the same time.

Shaking his head, Inuyasha resumed his normal pace behind Shippo. The day was almost over, and he would label it as successful.


	3. Let's Go For a Ride

Four days.

That is how long Inuyasha had been in his personal hell.

Well, maybe hell was _too_ strong of a word. Being at the animal rescue wasn't that bad. Rin and Shippo were friendly enough around him, and even went out of their way to make him feel welcome, in their own weird sort of way.

Every morning for the last two days, when Inuyasha would be dropped off at the front by Miroku, right on time, Rin would greet him from the front desk.

This was apparently her domain. The desk was lined with photos of past success stories, pamphlets on the rescue, and a vase with fake flowers. It made sense in a way; Rin was the perfect person to interact with possible customers as soon as they walked through the door.

Rin would smile and wave as he came through the door, and he would nod his head in greeting back. He had completely intended to keep moving on from there, ready to start his daily walks with the dogs.

But then there was the muffin.

He was first offered the muffin on the second morning of his community service. It was perched conspicuously on the ledge of Rin's large desk, and as he approached, the small woman's face broke out into the biggest grin.

"Goodmorning! I thought you would enjoy a nice homemade muffin. They're blueberry, I hope you don't mind!" She quickly scooted the muffin, wrapped in cellophane, towards him.

Inuyasha eyed the baked good warily. Rin seemed nice enough, too nice to play some sick prank on the new guy, so he took it in his hand, and give her a nod of thanks. It appeared that was all the gratitude she needed, because now it seemed to be a reoccurring thing: every morning, there was a muffin just waiting for him.

And every morning, he took it and had it at lunch.

Shippo took a different approach, using much more guy-oriented gestures to include Inuyasha. He would join the hanyou in the break room for lunch, where they made normal small talk with each other, which Inuyasha was grateful for. He didn't like long, drawn out conversations. He was more of a listener.

Usually during lunch, Rin would join them and carried the majority of the talking. She always had a crazy story to tell about any new dates she had been on or weird things happening at her home. Rin was _convinced_ that her house was haunted, and usually had a good story to share about any "experience" she had recently with the supernatural.

Inuyasha had yet to really meet the other worker at the rescue: Sango. The woman stayed mostly out in the pastures, working in the barn with the farm animals that grazed lazily in the sun. He had asked Shippo and Rin about the mysterious girl, who were able to shed a little light on her.

"Sango and Kagome have been best friends since they were little. Close family friends or something like that." Shippo paused to take a bite out of his sandwich, not even swallowing to continue. "A couple years ago, Sango's family all died in a house fire. It was pretty bad, man."

Rin nodded, the corners of her mouth twisting down in a frown. "Sango and her cat were the only ones to survive. Kagome immediately took her in, and they've been living together ever since." Letting out a sigh, Rin sipped her daily cup of hot tea. "Kagome offered her a job here, and Sango has dedicated her all of her time to the rescue. She's the organization's photographer too. She takes all the pictures you've probably seen hanging around."

Inuyasha stayed silent, mulling this over in his head. He felt pity for this Sango woman, and understood why she would stay to herself. Losing your entire family, and being left the only one alive, he was sure came with mounds of guilt.

He could understand why Sango didn't come to lunch in the break room, but what about Kagome? He hadn't seen her eat her lunch in the breakroom, or really anywhere.

Shrugging the thought away, Inuyasha quickly munched down on his daily muffin (chocolate this morning) before heading to the back of the rescue to help the delivery guy unload this week's boxes.

"Oh, Inuyasha! I'm so glad you're here!"

Inuyasha stopped at the door, his breath caught momentarily in his chest. He had just walked out the back door where he knew the delivery would be dropped off, only to run into Kagome Higurashi herself.

She had on khaki pants together, the same Tokyo Animal Rescue logo on the breast pocket of a now red t-shirt. In her hand was the standard clipboard that it seemed she toted around everywhere she went, as well as the biggest, brightest smile on her face.

Red really complimented her complexion.

Inuyasha quickly dropped the door behind him, letting it shut with a bang. It was only then that he noticed the new guest standing beside Kagome, and closer than really necessary.

The man was tall, around Inuyasha's own height, with sandy brown hair and normal brown eyes. He was obviously human, and had the strangest expression on his face as he looked between Kagome and Inuyasha.

"Hojo." The man spoke, reaching his hand out for Inuyasha to take. Inuyasha gave a smirk and he firmly gripped the human's hand, before releasing.

"Inuyasha." He replied back, his eyes turning to Kagome as if that was all the introduction really needed. And to Inuyasha, it was.

Kagome continued that sunshine-y beam of a smile as she looked between both men, placing a small, delicate hand on Inuyasha's shirt. "Inuyasha here will be helping you unload the truck, Hojo. I'm counting on you to show him where everything goes, including the donations. Shippo will help him unpack the boxes later."

Inuyasha felt his eyes go a little wide as they glanced at the petite hand resting so fucking _casually_ on his arm, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Hojo's eyes followed the movement as well, a small frown gracing his very boyish face.

There was a _click_ in the background that Inuyasha chalked up to a normal building sound.

"Absolutely, Miss Higurashi." Hojo was able to tear his gaze from the contact, a small pinking of his cheek present.

Kagome gave a laugh at the formal address, taking a step back from both men. "Hojo, we've gone over this. For as long as we've known each other, you can call me by my first name!" And there went that smile again, and it was apparently contagious because before long, Hojo was smiling back.

Hojo took a step towards Kagome, small but definitely a step, before lightly placing his hand near her wrist. "Of course, Kagome."

Kagome took a step back again, breaking the contact from Hojo. Inuyasha would have sworn he saw a look, almost as if she was uncomfortable, flash in her eyes but it dissipated nearly as quickly. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth deepening into an almost scowl.

He had heard from Shippo and Rin that the delivery guy, Hojo, was infatuated with Kagome. Based on the look that had crossed the boss' face, it did not appear the feelings were mutual.

Pulling the clipboard up to rest between her crossed arms, Kagome gave one last smile as her turned around to leave, tossing a, "See you later, Inuyasha!" Behind her as she walked around the corner of the building.

After that, the two men stared at each other for a few moments, before Hojo finally broke the silence.

"Alright, just start pulling out boxes and I'll sort them. It'll make it easier to get piles formed now so we can just take them to the right spot." Without looking back, Hojo unlocked the back of the delivery truck and pulled down the ramp. Inuyasha hopped in the back, and then men began unloading in awakard silence.

It wasn't until almost time to leave did Inuyasha spot Kagome again. It seemed she was always somewhere else, busy or with her hands full. Which was fine with Inuyasha, he had a lot to accomplish during his time there, especially with how bad cleaning the cat room was turning out to be.

The only way he would figure it out was that the cats could _smell_ the canine either in him or on him, and they fucking hated it. Every cage he opened to clean, the feline inside would hiss and swipe, which landed Inuyasha with a few decent battle scars.

Kagome had just walked out of her office, keys in hand and a big canvas bag pulled over her should, as well as a few file folders held in her own hand. Her phone was wedged between her ear and shoulder, obviously on the phone with someone.

"That's fantastic! Thank you so much, Yamato-san! I'll be sure to send over an outline of everything we will need to set up. Thank you so much!" She finished her call after that, quickly saying goodbye and clicking the phone shut.

As Inuyasha approached her, just passing in the hallway on his way to clean out a brand new battle wound from the cat room, Kagome gave a squeal and fist pumped into the air, her smile dazzling him to the point he forgot where he was going.

"You seem to be in a good mood." He stated briefly, keeping his face neutral as he came to a stop near her. She also stopped around a foot or two away in the small hallway that lead from the animal rooms to the front desk and her office. The small space made it feel they were closer in proximity than they actually were, causing Inuyasha to take a self-conscience step backwards to make space.

"I am! After all the work we've done, it's finally happening!" Noting the confused eyebrow raised on Inuyasha's face, Kagome let out a laugh that suspiciously reminded him of bells. "Oh, I forget you don't know. We've been in the works of having a fundraising carnival in a few weeks, and we have finally been cleared for the event space."

Inuyasha nodded, keeping his tone neutral, though internally he was making a face. Carnivals had never appealed to him, even as a child. The games were all rigged so you couldn't win, and he had always experienced a decent amount of bullying at carnivals.

" _Shouldn't you be in one of those cages?"_

" _Circus freak!"_

Inuyasha pushed those memories to the back of his mind, locked in a box where they should always stay.

Kagome continued to smile, tucking a piece of midnight hair back behind her ear where it had fallen. It was then thathe realized she was wearing opal earrings. It was strange really, as diamonds were the usual choice a woman would wear. A surprise, yes, but also a nice surprise.

He could recall during his time with Kikyo, the thought of her putting a metallic taste in his mouth, when she had begged him for expensive diamonds from a jewelry store they had browsed past.

She had insisted that if he loved her as he said he did, he would buy her the largest diamond her ears could hold, to symbolize his love.

Inuyasha felt, as usual, that should have been a warning sign right there.

Again, hindsight is 20/20.

"…fun, and I'm sure Shippo and Rin would love for you to join us. We do this every Thursday if we can."

Inuyasha blinked, realizing she had been talking to him _this whole time_ and he had spaced on everything she had said.

Damn it.

Refusing to look stupid, Inuyasha just stared at her and then gave a curt nod in agreement. He at least got the part that he would be _joining_ them somewhere.

It didn't sound terrible really, actually socializing with someone other than Miroku. The people he was working with now were nice people, who apparently didn't mind his gruff attitude and silent conversation.

The smile that broke across Kagome was the same beaming one she always gave around him, but maybe even a few volts higher. "Great! I'll go tell them now. You can ride with me, if you want. Shippo and Rin always ride together since they live so close." The offer was casual, but it was enough to catch Inuyasha off guard.

"Keh, don't trouble yourself. I can find my own ride." He crossed his arms over his chest, trying to cover up where she had surprised him. She just so _easily_ and _willingly_ offered a ride to someone she knew was on community service for a crime! Was this girl stupid?! "Besides, you shouldn't just be offering out rides with people you barely know! I'm here on community service remember?" His voice was gruff and irritated, although he only felt a fraction of it.

Kagome stared at him for a moment, her blue eyes flashing at his tone, her voice coming out much harder than he had heard it before. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much. But fine, if you don't want a ride, suit yourself." She pushed past him and started walking away. Before she turned the corner to head out to the front desk/Rin's kingdom, she stopped and looked back at him over her should. "….If you change your mind, I'll be outside in 30 minutes. Blue Toyota."

And then she was gone.

Inuyasha growled lowly, frustrated with himself over snapping at her. She was just trying to be nice, for fucks sake, and as usual he had to be an ass.

Walking back to the break room to collect his backpack, Inuyasha's spirit was lifted when he remembered that he brought an extra shirt to change out of as soon as he left.

He grabbed the bag quickly from his locker and grabbed the bottom of his old shirt, lifting it quickly over his head.

While bent over looking for this other shirt, the door to the break room swung open.

"Rin, are you in her-WHAAA!"

Inuyasha snapped his spine straight, turning with a scowl at whatever had made that _awful_ noise, causing his sensitive ears to fold over on themselves.

In the door way stood none other than Kagome Higurashi, face reddening by the minute and turned sideways so she was staring down the hallway.

"I am SO sorry!" She squeaked, bring her hand up to cup around her eyes, blocking his half naked body from view. "I-I was looking for Rin! If I knew you were in here, like _this_ , I would've never came in!"

Inuyasha let out a huff at that, feeling as if it was a slight to himself. He worked out, he knew he looked decent without a shirt; why was this woman acting as if it was the worst thing she had seen all day?!

"Keh, sorry to disappoint you that I'm not Rin. So sorry you had to scar your mind." He quickly slid the new shirt on, a black fitted t-shirt that complimented his dark washed jeans. "I'm covered, so you don't have to hide your eyes anymore."

Kagome slowly brought her hands down, the blush never leaving her face. If his pride wasn't feeling a little wounded at the moment, he would've almost called the color of her cheeks very flattering to her face and complexion.

"I-I-I'm just going to go find Rin." She stammered out quickly, and before he could reply she dashed out the door and down the hallway.

Well.

Alright then.

With that, Inuyasha pulled out his cellphone and punched in Miroku's number. There was about four rings before the letch finally picked up.

"Waaazzzzzuuppppp Innnuuuuu!" The voice on the other line slurred/sang into the phone, causing Inuyasha to ppull the speaker away, a disgruntled look gracing his features.

"What the fuck, are you drunk, Miroku?" Inuyasha was only greeted with a chuckle on the other line, or was it a giggle?

"Hell yeah I am man!"

Inuyasha sighed, "It's a Thursday afternoon Miroku, why the hell are you drunk?

Miroku's chuckle/giigle sounded again, seeming to be more high pitched. "I met these girls and I couldn't _not_ go get a drink with them! AThen one became two and then twi became eight and…."

"Alright stop. How the fuck am I supposed to get home?" Inuyasha all but growled into the phone.

"Man I don't know but-" And after that, there were distance giggled and words he couldn't make out before the call was disconnected.

Well, shit.

Giving a sigh, Inuyasha knew he only had one choice now: Find the blue Toyota in the parking lot.


End file.
